Transparent bar



D. P. wHELAN TRANSPARENT BAR Nov. 5, 1940.

2 snags-sheet 1 Filed July 27, 1958 Nov. 5, 1,940. n. P. WHELANTRANSPARENT BAR Filed July 27. 1938- v 2 sheets-sheet 2 ATr RNlgzYs"Patented Nov. 5,' 1940 i UNITED y STATES TRANSPARENT BAR Daniel l.Whelan, Menink, N. Y. Application July ai, 193s, serial Nn. 221,030

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a bar fo': use in restaurants and taverns forthe dispensing oi' beverages, such as beer, from kegs or barrels, thedispensing being accomplished through taps connected to such kegs orbarrels in the immediate view of the customer.

Beverages, such as beer,fare ordinarily delivered to the establishmentsuch as a restaurant or tavern, in kegs in which the beer is stored inthe cellar of the establishment, from which kegs the'.

from. It is a well known fact that any beverage,

such as beer, is characterized by more pleasing aroma and taste, -wellrecognized by the consumer, if it comes directly from the wood. It istherefore of great advertising value to demonstrate to the consumer, byhis ability to vobserve directly the source of the beer that is beingdis-` pensed, as being the wooden keg in which it was confined andaged'. Furthermore, the passage of beer from the keg through aconsiderable length of piping, necessarily of metal or other beercontaminating material, destroys the flavor andodor of the beverage to asufficient degree to be recognized not only by the expert, but by theaverage consumer. The great desirability of having the beer dispenseddirectly from the wood, i. e. the keg, is clearly demonstrated by thepresent greatly advertised trend of malt liquor manuiac turers, such as'beer, of imparting to a metal can a lining which is claimed to have, ineffect, and to be the equivalent of, the desirable properties of aconventional beer keg. A still further disadvantage of the prior methodsof dispensing .beer, as heretofore carried out, is that the inordinateamount of metal tubing necessary for leading the beer from Athe kegs inthe cellar to the bar, provides an added hazard of rupture of someportion of the piping, especially by reason of the necessity of closelypacking such piping by ice which must be periodically tamped down tosecure eiiective refrigeration.

In accordance with my invention, II provide a beer dispensing bar of astructure which over- I comes these primary disadvantages by construct-Y ing the bar in such manner as to have substanfrom the barrel or keg tothe dispensing taps. In accordance with my invention, I provide also aconstruction in which the refrigeration of the` l plurality of beer kegsis attained at a minimum of cost and with the desired ultimaterefrigerating eiiect.

Other objects of the invention and novel features of constructionembodied in my structure of transparent bar will be pointed outhereinafter in conjunction with the detailed description thereof inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which a particularembodiment of my novel structure is-illustrated, and in which Fig. `1 isa front view of a lsubstantially transparent bar constructed inaccordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof; Fig. 3is a plan view of the bar; Fig. 4 is an elevation of a series of bailleplates or louvres disposed between the various compartments of the bar;and 2o Fig. 5 ,is a vertical section through one of the compartments ofthe composite bar.

. Referring more particularly to the drawings, in which similarreference characters identify similar parts in the several views, -I0 isa metal or wood frame of a length depending upon the 25 number ofcompartments desired inthe bar, six such compartments, with a :barrel orkeg II in each thereof being'shown inthe particular embodiment chosenfor illustration, three of such compartments being on each side of acentral compartment I2, provided for housing the refrigerant orrefrigerating apparatus. Disposed in front of, and running substantiallythe length l of the bar, is the usual foot rail I3.

-As shown particularly in Fig. 5, the frame I0 35 is constituted of avertical floor rail member I4 and a horizontal rail member I5, both ofdouble thickness metal, the latter extending somewhatforward of thefront surface of the bar formedV of a plurality of sections of plateglass I6 posi- 40 tioned in front of each keg compartment. Supportedupon the horizontal rail I 5 are a plurality of' plates of glass I1.Running throughout the,

upper front edge of the bar is a raised rail mem- .ber'l having the rearedge thereof beveled at 45 I 9. The rear section of the frame I0 isformed'of a double thickness of sheet metal 20, the upper edge of which,facing the front of the bar, is beveled as at '2i so as to receivebetween it and -the bevel face I9, plates of glass 22 constituting 50the upper or top surface of the bar. The rear yportion of the frameextends from the part 2li, rearwardly, to constitute a shelf 23,and'then downwardly to the floor level. Each of the compartments o1' thebar is provided with a steel 55 door 24 having latches 25 flush withthesurfaces of the doors.

The floor .of each of the compartments is provided with a series ofsteel rollers 26 by means 0I which, through the open doors 24, a keg of60 beer 21 may be introduced into the compartment, to the positionthereof shown in Fig. 5. By removing the plate of glass 22 constitutingthe top surface of the bar, egress to the compartment` 5 is secured andthe keg of beer may be tapped when already in the bar, a short length ofpipe 28 being introduced into the bung hole of the keg in well knownmanner. .Y

Along the length of the bar and supported upon the horizontal rail l5,isa compressed-air line 29 with a 'stop-cock 3l) in each of thecompartments. From such stop-cock a short line of hose 3l is passed tothe piping 28, it being understood that the piping 28 is of conventionalconstruction. To the pipe 28 is connected a short ho 32, the other endof which is connected to the usual valved tap 33 by means of which thebeer from the keg is to be dispensed.

Preferably, each of the compartments is provided with one or lmoreelectric light bulbs 34.

The bar is provided with the conventional sink 35 having a cold watertap 36 and an iced drinking water tap 31. Near each end of the bar is adrain 3B. l Y

The various compartments are separated, in the preferred embodiment ofmy invention, which,'however, is shown for purposes of illustration andnot by way of limitation, by a structure illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5and constituting a series of bailles or louvres of metal, the louvres 39being so arranged as to be adapted to be closed or opened in the mannerof a Venetian blind. This vertical set of bailles or louvres, betweenadjacent compartments, may be utilized to direct in the variouscompartments. The use of the vertical series of louvres makes possiblenot only the control of the ilow of cold air over the kegs 40 in adesired manner, but makes possible the use of only a part of thecompartments, for instance, only two or four of the six shown in theillustrated embodiment, by completely closing some of the louvres, so asto retain the cold circulatr ing air in only such compartments ascontain 4kegs of beer. Thus, while I have shown my novel construction ofbar as constituted cf six compartments, any number of such compartmentsmay be built in the same bar and only so many, nearest the centralrefrigerating compartment, used as may be deemed necessary. Forinstance, during the winter months, when the consump- .tlon of beer ismuch less than in the summer, the same bar may be effectively used bymerely shutting on' certain of the end compartments in which no kegs arepositioned. The amount of refrigerant or reirigerating medium thusnecessary may be conveniently controlled with respect to the number ofkegs of beer used in the bar.

From the above, i,t will be clear, that the particular embodiment of myinventive structure illustratedin the drawings and describedhereinabove, is merely by way oi' example and that my invention may beutilized in a beverage dislpensing bar having elements diil'erent innumber, dierently disposed, and of a 'diierent conilguratlon than thatspecically shown and described, without departing from my invention.

I claim: 1. A bar for the storage and displaying of a plurality of kegsof a beverage, such as beer, and for 'dispensing said beverage directlyfrom such kegs, comprising an elongated frame dividedl into streams oi'cold air from the central refrigerating compartment i2 over the kegs ofbeer housed a plurality of compartments including a centralreirigerating compartment and a plurality of compartments on each sidethereof adapted to receive and to contain wholly therein, a plurality ofkegs of the beverage, said bar being constituted substantiallythroughout its front and top surfaces of plates oi' glass, whereby acustomer standing in front of the bar, may view the plurality or kegswithin the bar, the compartments of the bar being separated by a set ofvertical baiiies or louvres adapted to be closed or opened for thecontrol of the passage of cold air from the refrigerating compartment tothe compartments housing the various kegs, said baffles or louvres beingconstituted of slats movable from .fully open to fully closed positionand capable of being stopped at any intermediate position at the will ofthe operator. l

2.- A bar for thestorage and displaying of a plurality of kegs of abeverage, such as beer, and for dispensing said beverage directly fromsuch kegs, comprising an elongated frame divided into a plurality ofcompartments'including a central refrigerating compartment' and aplurality of compartments on each side thereof adapted to` receive andcontain wholly therein, a plurality of kegs of the beverage, said barbeingconstituted substantially throughout its front and top surfaces otplates of glass, whereby a customer standing in front of the bar, mayview the plurality of kegs within the bar, the `compartments of the barbeing separated by a set of vertical bailles or louvres adapted to beclosed for shut ting of! the passage of cold air from the refrigeratingcompartment to any of the compartments housing the various kegs, saidbailles or louvres being constituted of slats movable from fully open tofully closed position and capable of being stopped at any intermediateposition at the will of the operator.

3. A bar for the storage and displaying of a' plurality of kegs of abeverage, such as beer, and for dispensing said beverage directly fromsuch kegs, comprising an elongated frame divided intoa plurality ofcompartments including a central refrigerating compartment and aplurality of compartments on each side thereoil adapted to receive andto contain wholly therein, kegs of the beverage, said bar beingcharacterized by being constituted substantially throughout its frontface and top surface by plates of glass, whereby a consumer standing infront of the bar may view the plurality of kegs within the bar, each ofrsaid compartments having a plurality of steel rollers disposed upon theiloor thereof for the ready introduction into the bar of the kegs, aplurality of dispensing taps disposed near the top surface of the barand extending from each compartment, rearwardly, from the bar, and short.lengths oi' rubber tubing extending from said taps into saidcompartments for connection to the discharge pipe of each keg, thecompartments oi' the barbeing separated by a set of vertical baiiles orlouvres adapted to be closed or opened for the control oi the passage ofcold air from the rei'rigerating compartment to the compartments housingthe various kegs, said bames or louvres being constituted of slatsmovable from fully open to fully closed position and capable oi' beingstopped at any intermediate position -at the will of the operator.

DANIEL P. WHELAN.

